Main top and surface burner construction



July 15, 1969 I w. T. KEMP 3,455,290

MAIN TOP AND SURFACE BURNER CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. s, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1' WAY T: KEMP July 15, 1969 w. KEMP 3,455,290

MAIN TOP AND SURFACE BURNER CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 8, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 AGE/VT July 15, 1969 w. T. KEMP MAIN TOP AND SURFACE BURNER CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 8, 1968 Wis ow k

WAYNE 7T KEMP July 15, 1969 w, T. KEMP 3,455,290

MAIN TOP AND SURFACE BURNER CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 8, 1968 4 Sheets-Shet 4 //Vl//70/9. F 6 WAYNE Z' KEMP A6 NT United States Patent 3,455,290 MAIN TOP AND SURFACE BURNER CONSTRUCTION Wayne T. Kemp, Kntztown, Pa., assignor to Caloric Corporation, Topton, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Jan. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 696,240 Int. Cl. F24c 3/12, 15/10 US. Cl. 126-39 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention This invention relates to gas cooking stoves and has particular reference to an improved main top and surface burner construction for gas burning stoves.

The main, or cooking, top of a conventional gas stove is normally provided with a number of removable aerating pans which have openings for one or more surface burners. The junctions of the aerating pans with the main top present dirt-catching cracks which can be efficiently cleaned only by removal of the utensil-supporting grates located above the pans and then of the pans themselves.

Further, the openings in the aerating pans are necessarily larger than the burners passing therethrough, and the surfaces of the pans slope in the direction of the opening with the result that liquid or food spilled, for example, by boil over or by tipping of a cooking pot, finds its way into the burner box and onto the venturi tubes, flash tubes, and other instrumentalities which are conventionally housed in the burner box beneath the burners and top, presenting serious cleaning problems.

Still further, in conventional gas stoves the burners are provided with shutters which require precise adjustment to regulate the flow of primary air into the venturi tubes, and ports in the burners in line with the discharge ends of the venturi tubes get more fuel than those farther away, creating uneven flame lengths around the circular perimeter of the burner heads.

A still further problem with conventional gas stoves is the design of the burner caps which may permit contamination to be produced by undesirable intermingling of combustion products from the burner with secondary air flowing toward the burner from the sides thereof.

Summary of the invention The above and other disadvantages of the prior art have been overcome in the presently described gas stove by a construction wherein a single apertured main top is utilized with burners projecting upwardly through the apertures. The burner caps are provided with umbrellas which overlie the open portions of the apertures and effectively provide, along with upturned flanges 0n the main top, means for considerably reducing the amounts of spillover or the like which is enabled to pass through the apertures into the underlying burner boxes. Such a structure is not only initially cleaner and more attractive but is more easily maintained in that condition, without the likelihood of the burner box and its various parts being sufficiently contaminated or messed as to be objectionable.

The burner boxes in the presently described structure are provided with openings of precise specific sizes to 3,455,290 Patented July 15, 1969 ice control the quantity of primary air drawn into the burner venturis so as to obtain satisfactory flame characteristics without the use of air shutters.

The presently described device also embodies flash tubes of a conventional nature which direct gas from a jet or nipple to a pilot for initial ignition, and the burner base is provided with an upwardly slanted slot or conduit which supplies gas into the upward path of the ignited gas from the jet, to relay the flame through openings provided therefor in the main top and umbrella to the gas issuing from the ports in the burner cap.

Brief description of the drawing The above and other objectives and advantages of this invention are achieved by the structures described hereinafter and as illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partly exploded, perspective view of a stove top embodying the invention, certain parts being omitted and others being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view looking in the direction of line 33 on FIG. 2, and showing the construction of the thermostat-controlled burner;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view looking in the direction of line 44 on FIG. 2 and showing the structure of a regular manually controlled burner;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the thermostat-controlled burner structure looking in the direction of line 55 on FIG. 3, certain parts being broken away to show internal construction;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view looking in the direction of line 66 on FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view looking in the direction of line 77 on FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view looking in the direction of line 8-8 on FIG. 7, certain parts being broken away;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view looking in the direction of line 9-9 on FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the thermostat controlled burner, the thermostat and the burner cap being omitted;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional viewlooking in the direction of line 1111 on FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in section, looking in the direction of line 12--12 on FIG. 4; and

FIG. 13 is a sectional view looking in the direction of line 1313 on FIG. 12.

Description of the preferred embodiment In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a gas burning cooking stove having a main cooking top 10 which mounts a number of manually controlled surface burners such as rear burners 12 and 14 and one front burner 16 which front burner is not shown but which, if shown, will be at position 16. The other front burner 18 is thermostatically controlled for automatic operation. Below the main top is a burner box 20 and, below that, there are the usual oven and/ or broiler, and/ or storage compartments, which form no part of the present invention and are, therefore, not shown nor described. The front burners 16 and 18 are supplied with gas and primary combustion air by venturi tubes 22, and the rear burners 12 and 14 are similarly supplied by venturi tubes 24, FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown, the venturi tubes are made by upwardly embossing the burner box 20 to form the upper half of the venturi tube, as

, at V, and by downwardly embossing a sheet 25 to form To insure proper alignment of the upper and lower parts V and V-l of the venturi tubes, they are provided with congruent depressions 23 and 26, and to insure proper alignment of the intake ends of the venturi tubes with pipes P which lead from the gas manifold 30, the outer ends of the lower parts V-1 of the venturi tubes are provided with tabs T (FIG. 3) which have holes which receive the ends of the pipes P. The flow of gas from the manifold to pipes P is regulated by valve 32, and primary air is introduced into the venturi tubes for mixing with the gas flow through precisely sized openings between the upper ends of the tabs and the adjacent ends of the venturi tubes. Each of burners 12, 14 and 16 is provided with a burner casting 36, one of which is shown in FIG. 4, and burner 18 is provided with a casting 38 which is shown in FIG. 3. Both types of castings are provided with legs 40 (FIGS. 6 and having holes for receiving fastening screws 42 which pass upwardly, through holes 43 formed in burner box 20. Holes 43 also serve to index, or locate, the burner castings relative to the flash tubes 44 which lead to pilot burner 46.

Each pair of front and rear burners is provided with a utensil support 48, the configuration of which is clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but since the specific structure of this support is not claimed herein, it is not described in detail.

Thermostatically controlled burner 18 is provided with a heat-sensitive element 50 which yieldably engages the bottom of a cooking pot, not shown, resting on support 48. Element 50 is connected to a control valve, also not shown, which regulates the flame of burner 18 according to the temperature of the bottom of the pot. Since this type of thermostat and its connection to the fuel supply are old in the art, and since the specific structure involved is not claimed herein, it is not shown nor described in detail. It is suflicient to assume that, when the temperature of the pot reaches the value to which the thermostat is set, the flame is throttled, and vice versa.

Casting 38 of thermostat-operated burner 18, FIG. 3, comprises spaced concentric cylinders 52 and 53 which coact to provide a chamber 54 therebetween which is restricted by an annular horizontal flange 57. Chamber 54 overlies aligning openings 58 which are formed in burner box and which lead to the outlet end of the corresponding venturi tube 22 to supply a mixture of gas and air to the burner, FIG. 3.

Cylinders 52 and 53 of casting 38 support the inner, imperforate and the outer, ported walls 60 and 61 of a burner cap 62. Cylinders 60 and 61 coact with top wall 63 to form a chamber 65 which is a continuation of chamber 54, FIGS. 3 and 6.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the heat sensitive element 50 is subject to the heat radiated by the flame and by the surrounding structure which is heated by the flame. This may cause the thermostat to throttle the burner flame before the pot has reached the desired temperature. To correct this, I mount the heat sensitive element 50 out of all contact with the parts heated by the burner and I provide inner and outer burner cylinders 52 and 53 with lower aligning openings 66, FIGS. 6 and 10, which admit ambient air to the inside of inner cylinder 52. The air thus admitted flows upwardly around element 50 as per the arrow in FIG. 6. By this arrangement, the response of the thermostat will more accurately reflect the temperature of the pot.

The top wall 63 of chamber 65 is radiused as at 59 so as to deflect the gas rising in chamber 54 toward the burner ports 67.

Since manually operated burners 12, 14 and 16 are identical, only one of them, such as burner 12, will be described.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, the casting 36 of burner 12 is in the form of a cylinder 70 which overlies openings 58 so as to recei e the fuel mixture flowing through .4 said openings from the corresponding venturi tube 24. About midway of its height, cylinder 70 is provided with an internal restrictive flange 72.

Casting 36 of burner 12 is provided with a detachable burner cap 74 which is formed of ported side wall 75 and the imperforate top wall 76 which is dished downwardly as at 78. Surfaces 59 and 78 serve to deflect the fuel mixture so that it flows outwardly through ports 67 at an upwardly directed angle, about as shown by the arrows 71 in FIGS. 3 and 4. This makes for better heat transfer than would be the case if the flame were to assume a more nearly horizontal position in which the flame does not impinge on the bottom of the pot. Furthermore, such direction of the flames aids in directing combustion products upwardly so that they will not mix within secondary air from the sides of the device and create undesirable contamination, as will be described.

In both embodiments, the burner cap (62 or 74), is provided with a pendent, outwardly and downwardly sloping skirt 80, the diameter of which is larger than the opening 82 in main top 10 through which the burner casting projects. Also, in both embodiments, the portion of the main top 10 surrounding opening 82 is slanted upwardly as at 83 so as to form a relatively depressed surface 84 around said opening. By this arrangement, any spilled food or liquid will fall on skirt and thence on surface 84. Therefore, except in the case of a massive spill, no spillage will pass through opening '82 into the burner box. Experience shows that a boil-over, or a slight tip-over of a full vessel, hardly ever spills more liquid than can be easily contained by the present structure. In both burner structures, skirt 80 prevents the secondary air from rising from beneath the main top directly to the flame, as it would in the absence of skirt 80. Instead, the secondary air flows toward the burner along the top of skirt 80 and combines with the combustible gas-air mixture at a distance from ports 67. This makes for better combustion and helps to remove the constantly forming products of combustion so as to minimize contamination of the secondary air mixing with the fuel emanating from ports 67 In both embodiments the burner casting is provided with a jet or nipple 86 which supplies gas from the interior of the burner casting to the adjacent end of the flash tubes 44.

In both embodiments, the burner casting is provided with an upwardly slanted slot 87 which supplies gas into the upward path of the ignited gas issuing from jet 86. The gas issuing out of slot 87 acts to relay the flame of the gas issuing from nipple 86, through openings 82 and 88 to the gas issuing out of the ports in the burner cap.

By sizing the openings 58 leading into the bottoms of the burner castings according to the requirements of the burners, I dispense with the shutters which are conventionally used on the intake ends of the venturi tube.

In order to facilitate the application of the burner caps, and to prevent the application of the cap of one burner to another, I provide each skirt 80 with a collar 90 (FIGS. 4, 8 and 11) which fits snugly over a respective burner casing, and is provided with a vertical opening 92 for receiving an indexing rib or projection 94 on the selected burner casing. By this arrangement, a cap is applied to a burner casting and rotated until opening 92 accepts rib 94. If the wrong cap is used, it will never fit.

The operation of both embodiments is as follows:

When the gas is turned on, it fills the burner casting and flows out through jet, or nipple 86, into the adjacent flash tube. When the gas reaches the pilot 46, it flashes back and ignites the gas flowing out through nipple 86. This, in turn, ignites the gas flowing out through port 87. The flame of the gas issuing out of port 87 ignites the gas flowing through the ports of the burner cap.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the objectives and advantages of this invention have been achieved by the structures shown and described. However, it is to be understood that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A gas burning stove including:

a burner box,

a one-piece main top overlying said burner box and having at least one burner opening therein,

a hollow, open-ended burner body disposed in said opening,

a fuel mixture conveying tube leading to the lower end of said burner body, and

a skirt affixed to and closely surrounding said burner body and overlying said opening.

2. The stove defined in claim 1 wherein the diameter of the skirt is larger than the diameter of the opening.

3. The stove defined in claim 1 wherein the portion of the main top which defines the opening slants upwardly beneath said skirt in the direction of the vertical axis of the opening.

4. The stove defined in claim 1 wherein said burner body includes a vertically extending wall which is provided with a through-slot disposed below said skirt for permitting fuel flow from within to without said body.

5. The stove defined in claim 4 wherein said skirt is provided with a hole in vertical alignment with said slot.

6. The stove defined in claim 4 and a jet leading from within to without the burner at a point below, and in vertical alignment with, said slot, and a pilot flash tube having one end thereof adjacent said jet whereby ignition of the fuel flowing out of said jet ignites the fuel flowing out of said slot.

7. The stove defined in claim 5 and a ported burner head carried by said burner bod the ports of said head being above said hole and close enough thereto whereby ignition of the fuel flowing out of said slot through the hole ignites the fuel flowing out of said head.

8. The stove defined in claim 1 and a ported burner head detachably carried by said burner body,

a heat-sensitive element carried by said burner box and projecting through an opening in said head,

and vents in the lower portion of said burner body for supplying ambient air to the exterior of said element.

9. The stove defined in claim 1 and baffie means extending from the side of the burner body into the path of the fuel mixture for regulating the flow of the fuel mixture through said body.

10. The stove defined in claim 1, wherein said burner body is provided with a ported bumer head having a cap thereover, said cap having means for directing fuel from the interior thereof outwardly through the ports therein and to direct the resultant flame at an upward angle exteriorly of the cap.

11. The stove defined in claim 10 wherein the skirt is angled outwardly and downwardly to create upward flow of secondary air flowing toward the burner over the surface of the top.

12. The stove defined in claim 10 wherein said means comprises an inner radiused surface adjacent the upper ends of the ports.

13. The stove defined in claim 10 wherein said means comprises a depression in the top surface of the cap for deflecting the fuel flow upwardly through the ports.

14. The stove defined in claim 1 wherein said burner box is provided with elongated upwardly extending embossments, and a sheet material is disposed against the.

underside of the burner box and has downwardly extending embossments corresponding to and mating with the embossments in the burner box to form venturi tubes, one end of .each venturi tube having upwardly directed slotted tabs for support of the adjacent end of fuel supply means, and the other end of each venturi being connected with a respective burner body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,040,446 5/1936 Schneider 126-39 2,497,787 2/ 1950 Minster 126-39 2,892,349 6/1959 Wiberg et a1. 126-52 X 3,276,441 10/1966 Scherer 126-39 EDWARD G. FAVORS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

